patteren:
093009;1004
series: magnificat;201
| patteren:
093009;1004 |
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Indeed, after scanning all the etchings, Mrs. Roland agreed with the woman through gestures of shaking her head in wonder to communicate that the art was astonishingly exquisite. But, not to look over-eager and lose her opportunity to possibly haggle at the price, Mrs. Roland maintained her distance. She finally uttered, “It’s beautifully finished.” “Yes, I believe it’s shellacked, preserving the natural color of the cherry wood which darkens with contact to light,” superciliously puffed the woman, and then she briskly added, “The price is non-negotiable.” At that, Mrs. Roland looked sweetly into the woman’s face and assured her, “Of course, of course...The color is so rich and lustrous. Did you know that shellac is made out of the secretions of a scale insect (a homopterous insect), the Laccifer lacca. The secretions are purified and dried into flakes or sheets of flakes. Then, to use these flakes, you have to dissolve them with a substance like mineral spirits, and when applied, it gives your work a hard, shiny shell. I wonder how someone came up with that idea...to think..to use the secretions of insects! Like silk...a fiber a worm produces to make its cocoons. Truly, we live in a wondrous world with people who witness and catch that wonder!” With that encyclopedic rambling, Mrs. Roland took a sweeping glance around the room surveying the rest of the items for sale and made a motion to button her overcoat. “You’re not at all interested?” queried the somewhat astonished woman. “Oh, it’s exquisite, just as you have said, but I’m afraid it’s out of my present budget,” sincerely spoke Mrs. Roland, ”I’ll have to consider it; perhaps, I’ll return later today.” She took the woman’s right hand into both her hands and began to shake it, “Thank you for taking the time to show it to me.” Such a pity, she thought, I wonder what it would have looked like after I had refinished it. |
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